20 Mar. 2007

On the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq, the Opposition asked John Howard whether he was aware of reports the United States (US) has prepared a plan for a phased withdrawal of troops from Iraq, and whether he had a similar plan for Australian forces.

"The answer is yes, it's normal for that contingency planning to be made," Mr Howard said.

That piqued the interest of the Labor leader, Kevin Rudd.

"He stated for the first time that the Government has in place a contingency plan for the phased withdrawal of Australian forces from Iraq," he said.

"What is that plan?"

The Prime Minister told Parliament he was referring to the US plan.

"The Leader of the Opposition is misrepresenting what I said," he said.

The Prime Minister misheard a climate change question last month.

Getting deaf in his old age?

So the US has a contingency plan for withdrawal but Australia does not. Can anyone say "shag on a rock"?